Case for mobile device

ABSTRACT

A case a mobile device is provided comprising an outer cover and a shell sized to contain a mobile device. The outer cover can include a first member, a second member, and a flexible member. The shell can include a back panel and a protrusion extending along a perimeter of the back panel. The shell may be reversibly attached to the second member of the outer cover.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/213,581, filed Mar. 14, 2014, which claims the benefit of priorityunder 35 U.S.C. §119(e) from U.S. Provisional Application No.61/799,926, filed on Mar. 15, 2013. The above applications are herebyincorporated herein by reference in their entirety and are to beconsidered as a part of this specification.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

This application relates to protective cases for a mobile device.

Description of the Related Art

Mobile devices are often known to sustain damage in many different waysincluding from being dropped by a user or to fall off of objects such asa table, water damage, etc. The damage may sometime result in a crackedscreen, lost button, cracked mobile device body, etc. Thus cases havebeen provided to protect a mobile device from many different types ofdamage.

SUMMARY

A detachable case and cover for a mobile device is discussed herein. Aprotective case can be provided for a mobile device including adetachable cover. The case and cover can allow for use of the mobiledevice within the case whether the case is attached or detached from thecover. The cover can also provide storage options for cards, money, etc.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of an embodiment of an outer cover of the casewhich shows the inner surfaces of the outer cover.

FIG. 2 is a back view of the outside of an embodiment of an outer coverof the case which shows the outer surfaces of the outer cover.

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of an embodiment of an outer cover.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a mobile device shellof a case that is dimensioned to receive and retain the mobile devicefor which it is designed.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment with a portion of an outer cover, ashell and a mobile device.

FIG. 6 shows a backside perspective of the portion of the outer cover,the shell and the mobile device of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 shows the portion of the outer cover, the shell and the mobiledevice of FIG. 5 in a connected position.

FIG. 8 shows the portion of the outer cover and the shell of FIG. 5 in aconnected position without the mobile device.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the portion of the outer cover and theshell of FIG. 5 disconnected from one another and without the mobiledevice.

FIG. 10 is a first side view of the portion of the outer cover and theshell of FIG. 5 disconnected from one another.

FIG. 11 is a second side view, opposite that of the first side viewdepicted in FIG. 10, of the portion of the outer cover and the shell ofFIG. 5 disconnected from one another.

FIG. 12 is a top view of the portion of the outer cover and the shell ofFIG. 5 disconnected from one another.

FIG. 13 is a detailed view of the second side of a portion of the outercover and the shell of FIG. 5 connected to one another.

FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the portion of the outer cover andthe shell of FIG. 5 connected to one another as depicted in FIG. 8.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the portion of the outer cover of FIG.5.

FIG. 16 is a front view of the interior side of another embodiment of acase which shows the inner surfaces of an outer cover and a shellcomponent connected to one another.

FIG. 17 is a back view of the outside of the case of FIG. 16 which showsthe outer surfaces of the outer cover.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of the case of FIG. 16 which shows shellseparated from the outer cover.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The mobile device case assembly described herein may include twoseparate components—an outer cover 100 and a mobile device shell 200. Insome embodiments, the mobile device shell 200 may be reversibly attachedto the outer cover 100 such that a user of the mobile device caseassembly can use the mobile device shell 200 with or without the outercover 100. As such, the mobile device case assembly described herein maybe used in at least two separate configurations based upon the user'spreference.

The detailed description contained herein references directionalterminology such as, but not limited to, “front”, “back”, and “rear.”Such terms are used solely to provide a greater degree of clarity forunderstanding an embodiment of the device and should not be read aslimiting the components to functionality or assembly based upon suchdirectional terminology.

FIGS. 1-3 are illustrations of an embodiment of an outer cover 100 ofthe mobile device case assembly. With reference to FIG. 1 which is aview of the inside of the outer cover 100, the outer cover 100 mayinclude a first member 120, a second member 140, and a flexible member160. In some embodiments, first member 120 may be a planar member suchas a front panel 122 configured to cover a front surface, such as ascreen or touchscreen, of a mobile device inserted into the mobiledevice case assembly. As such, in some embodiments, the front panel 122is preferably dimensioned to be slightly greater than the mobile device.Furthermore, in some embodiments, the corners of front panel 122 arerounded. Front panel 122 may be manufactured from materials such asmetals, composites, plastics, rubbers, leathers, or other polymers. Insome embodiments, the front panel 122 may be manufactured from multiplelayers. In some embodiments, the inner surface 124 of the panel 122 maybe a soft fabric to reduce likelihood of damaging the front surface ofthe mobile device, the outer surface 126 may be a durable fabric orleather, and a middle component may be a rigid material such as metal orplastic to provide a greater degree of protection for the front surfaceof the mobile device.

In some embodiments, such as that illustrated in FIG. 1, front panel 122may include pockets 128 a, 128 b, and 128 c. In the illustratedembodiment, the pockets 128 a, 128 b, and 128 c have openings in theform of slits sized such that a user of the outer cover 100 may insertitems such as a credit card, business card, currency, and the like intothe pockets. In some embodiments, the first member 120 may additionallyinclude an elongate strap 130 attached near the top edge and near thebottom edge of the front panel 122. The elongate strap 130 may be madeof an elastic material configured to allow the elongate strap to stretchto hold additional items and/or may be configured to serve as a lockingmechanism for the mobile device case assembly when the first member 120is positioned to cover a front surface of the mobile device. Elongatestrap may also extend around the outer surface 126.

With reference to FIG. 1, in some embodiments, second member 140 mayinclude a rear panel 142 configured to be reversibly attached to amobile device shell 200 (described in further detail with respect toFIG. 3). As such, in some embodiments, the rear panel 142 is preferablydimensioned to be slightly greater than the mobile device shell 200 andin some preferred embodiments, may have the same dimensions as the frontpanel 122 of the first member 120. Rear panel 142 may be manufacturedfrom materials such as metals, composites, plastics, rubbers, leathers,or other polymers. In some embodiments, rear panel 142 may be made of amaterial of sufficient stiffness such as metal or plastic to provide agreater degree of protection for the rear of the mobile device. Suchmaterial may also be slightly elastic to allow for some degree ofdeformation.

In some embodiments, on the inner surface 144, rear panel 142 may haveraised edge protrusions 146 a and 146 b configured to facilitateplacement of mobile device shell 200 on panel 142. In the illustratedembodiment, raised edge protrusions 146 a and 146 b are located alongthe perimeter of the rear panel 142. In some embodiments, the raisedprotrusions may extend along the entire perimeter of the rear panel 142.

The rear panel 142 may also have retention mechanisms 148 a, 148 b, 148c, 148 d, and 148 e, which protrude from the inner surface 144 such aswings, clips, fasteners, or other such retention mechanisms known in theart which are configured to be received within retention receivers 210a, 210 b, and 210 c on the mobile device shell 200 (as shown in FIG. 4).The retention mechanisms 148 a, 148 b, 148 c, 148 d, and 148 e therebyare configured to allow the second member 140 to be reversibly attachedto the mobile device shell 200. In some embodiments, the retentionmechanisms 148 a, 148 b, 148 c, 148 d, and 148 e are clips which extendin a direction transverse to the rear panel 142 along the perimeter ofthe rear panel 142. The retention mechanisms 148 a, 148 b, 148 c, 148 d,and 148 e may be made of a material of sufficient stiffness such thatthe retention mechanisms 148 a, 148 b, 148 c, 148 d, and 148 e maydeform slightly when a force is applied such as when the mobile deviceshell 200 is being inserted or removed. This deformation allows themobile device shell 200 to be inserted or removed from the second member140. The retention mechanisms 148 a, 148 b, 148 c, 148 d, and 148 e maythen be configured to return to its underformed shape when the mobiledevice shell 200 has either been fully inserted or fully removed suchthat, when fully inserted, the mobile device shell 200 is snuglyretained on the second member 140.

In some embodiments, the rear panel 142 may also include an aperture 150for a camera and associated components such as flash. Additionalapertures may be included for other components such as speakers andmicrophones. With reference to FIG. 2 which is a view of the outside ofthe outer cover 100, in some embodiments, the outer surface 152 of therear panel 142 may include a pocket 154 similar to pockets 128 a, 128 b,and 128 c.

With reference back to FIG. 1, flexible member 160 is configured toattach both the first member 120 and the second member 140. Flexiblemember 160 has bridge 162 which in some embodiments is sized such that,when fully assembled, the first member 120 and second member 140 can beplaced parallel on opposing sides of the mobile device shell 200. Insome embodiments, the flexible member 160 may be attached to the firstmember 120 through attachment mechanisms such as, but not limited to,sewing, riveting, adhesives, or other attachment mechanisms known in theart. In some embodiments, the flexible member 160 may contain anattachment portion 164 which is attached to the inner surface 144 of therear panel 142 via attachment mechanisms such as, but not limited to,sewing, riveting, adhesives, or other attachment mechanisms known in theart. In some embodiments, bridge 162 and attachment portion 164 form anintegral unit. Flexible member 160 may be manufactured from materialssuch as metals, composites, plastics, rubbers, leathers, or otherpolymers.

FIG. 4 is an illustration of an embodiment of a mobile device shell 200of the mobile device case assembly configured to receive a mobiledevice. In some embodiments, the mobile device shell 200 is sized tocontain a mobile device and has a back panel 202 configured to cover atleast a portion of the back surface of a mobile device.

In the illustrated embodiment, the panel 202 is configured to coversubstantially the entire back surface of a mobile device. The mobiledevice shell 200 may additionally include a protrusion or protrusions204 a and 204 b extending in a direction transverse to the back panel202 and along the perimeter of the back panel 202 which is configured tocover at least a portion of the side surfaces of a mobile device. In theillustrated embodiment, mobile device shell 200 has two protrusions 204a and 204 b covering two lateral sides of a mobile device and coveringall four corner edges of a mobile device. In some embodiments, theprotrusions may be a single unit extending along the entirety of theperimeter of the mobile device.

In some embodiments, protrusions 204 a and 204 b can extend from backpanel 202 a distance slightly greater than the depth of the insertedmobile device. Additionally, in some embodiments such as thatillustrated in FIG. 4, voids 206 a and 206 b may also be included andmay be positioned to allow access to external ports on a mobile devicesuch as, but not limited to, headphone device jacks, power ports,multi-AV ports, data ports, volume rockers or buttons, and any othersuch input, output, control, button, or port located on a side surfaceof the mobile device. In some embodiments, protrusions 204 a and 204 bmay include additional apertures 208 configured to allow access to theabove described inputs, outputs, buttons, or ports.

In some embodiments, protrusion 204 a may include retention receivers210 a, 210 b, and 210 c, such as slots, apertures, or other retentionreceivers known in the art, configured to receive retention mechanisms148 a, 148 b, and 148 c respectively. Protrusion 204 b may also includeretention receivers (not shown) configured to receive retentionmechanisms 148 d and 148 e. In some embodiments, the protrusions mayinclude retention edges 212 a and 212 b extending along the edgeopposite the edge connected to back panel 202. The retention protrusionsmay extend in a direction transverse to the protrusions in a directiontowards the opposite protrusion. The retention edges 212 a and 212 b areconfigured to contact the front surface of an inserted mobile device toretain the mobile device within the mobile device shell 200. In someembodiments, the back panel 202 may also include an aperture 214 for acamera and associated components such as flash. Aperture 214 maycorrespond to the position and size of aperture 150. Mobile device shell200 may be manufactured from materials such as metals, composites,plastics, rubbers, leathers, or other polymers. In some embodiments, themobile device shell 200 may be made from a sufficiently stiff materialsuch as plastic such that the mobile device shell 200 may deformslightly to allow insertion and removal of a mobile device and return toits undeformed shape after the mobile device has been fully inserted orfully removed.

FIGS. 5-15 are illustrative views of another embodiment of a mobiledevice case assembly with an outer cover 100 and a shell 200 havinggenerally the same components as previously described. Accordingly, theouter cover 100 may include a rear panel 142 configured to be reversiblyattached to a mobile device shell 200. As such, in some embodiments, therear panel 142 is preferably dimensioned to be slightly greater than themobile device shell 200. Rear panel 142 may be manufactured frommaterials such as metals, composites, plastics, rubbers, leathers, orother polymers. In some embodiments, rear panel 142 may be made of amaterial of sufficient stiffness such as metal or plastic to provide agreater degree of protection for the rear of the mobile device. Suchmaterial may also be slightly elastic to allow for some degree ofdeformation.

Like the prior embodiment, the inner surface 144 of the rear panel 142may have raised edge protrusions 146 a and 146 b configured tofacilitate placement of mobile device shell 200 on panel 142. In theillustrated embodiment, raised edge protrusions 146 a and 146 b arelocated along the perimeter of the rear panel 142 and may extend alongthe entire perimeter of the rear panel 142 or in discrete regionsthereof.

The rear panel 142 may also have retention mechanisms 148 a, 148 b, 148c, 148 d, and 148 e, which protrude from the inner surface 144 such aswings, clips, fasteners, or other such retention mechanisms known in theart which are configured to be received within retention receivers 210a, 210 b, 210 c, 210 d, and 210 e on the mobile device shell 200. Theretention mechanisms 148 a, 148 b, 148 c, 148 d, and 148 e thereby areconfigured to allow the outer cover 100 to be reversibly attached to themobile device shell 200. In some embodiments, the retention mechanisms148 a, 148 b, 148 c, 148 d, and 148 e are clips which extend in adirection transverse to the rear panel 142 along the perimeter of therear panel 142. The retention mechanisms 148 a, 148 b, 148 c, 148 d, and148 e may be made of a material of sufficient stiffness such that theretention mechanisms 148 a, 148 b, 148 c, 148 d, and 148 e may deformslightly when a force is applied such as when the mobile device shell200 is being inserted or removed. This deformation allows the mobiledevice shell 200 to be inserted or removed from the outer cover 100. Theretention mechanisms 148 a, 148 b, 148 c, 148 d, and 148 e may then beconfigured to return to its underformed shape when the mobile deviceshell 200 has either been fully inserted or fully removed such that,when fully inserted, the mobile device shell 200 is snugly retained onthe outer cover 100.

An aperture 150 for a camera and associated components such as flash mayalso be included the rear panel 142 and with a corresponding aperture214 in the shell 200. Additional apertures may be included for othercomponents such as speakers and microphones.

The mobile device shell 200 of the mobile device case assembly in FIGS.5-15 is similarly configured to receive a mobile device 300. The mobiledevice shell 200 is sized to contain the mobile device 300 and has aback panel 202 configured to cover at least a portion of the backsurface of a mobile device 300.

As illustrated, the panel 202 is configured to cover substantially theentire back surface of a mobile device 300. The mobile device shell 200,like the prior embodiment, may additionally include protrusions 204 aand 204 b extending in a direction transverse to the back panel 202 andalong the perimeter of the back panel 202 which is configured to coverat least a portion of the side surfaces of a mobile device 300. In theillustrated embodiment, mobile device shell 200 has two protrusions 204a and 204 b covering two lateral sides of a mobile device and coveringall four corner edges of a mobile device, however, as previously notedother configurations may be employed that extend from differentperimeter regions and or along the entirety of the perimeter of the backpanel, which alone or in combination with protrusions extending from therear panel 142 may cover each or some of the four perimeter side wallsof the mobile device in part or entirely.

As previously noted, protrusions 204 a and 204 b may extend from backpanel 202 a distance slightly greater than the depth of the insertedmobile device and. Voids 206 a and 206 b may also be included and may bepositioned to allow access to external ports on a mobile device such as,but not limited to, headphone device jacks, power ports, multi-AV ports,data ports, volume rockers or buttons, and any other such input, output,control, button, or port located on a side surface of the mobile device.Additional apertures 208 configured to allow access to the abovedescribed inputs, outputs, buttons, or ports may also be included.

As illustrated, the protrusion 204 a may also include retentionreceivers 210 a, 210 b, and 210 c, such as slots, apertures, or otherretention receivers known in the art, configured to receive retentionmechanisms 148 a, 148 b, and 148 c respectively. Protrusion 204 b mayalso include retention receivers 148 d and 148 e configured to receiveretention mechanisms 148 d and 148 e. The protrusions may includeretention edges 212 a and 212 b extending along the edge opposite theedge connected to back panel 202. As illustrated, the retentionprotrusions may extend in a direction transverse to the protrusions in adirection towards the opposite protrusion and be configured to contactthe front surface of an inserted mobile device 300 to retain the mobiledevice within the mobile device shell 200. Mobile device shell 200 maybe manufactured as previously described.

FIGS. 16-18 are illustrative views of another embodiment of a protectivecase for mobile device having an outer cover 100 and a shell 200. Theembodiment illustrated in FIGS. 16-18 is similar to that in FIGS. 1-4,but as illustrated, employs a shell 200 and rear panel 142 form factoror implementation like that depicted in FIGS. 5-15.

Although this invention has been disclosed in the context of certainpreferred embodiments and examples, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that the present invention extends beyond thespecifically disclosed embodiments to other alternative embodimentsand/or uses of the invention and obvious modifications and equivalentsthereof. In addition, while a number of variations of the invention havebeen shown and described in detail, other modifications, which arewithin the scope of this invention, will be readily apparent to those ofskill in the art based upon this disclosure. It is also contemplatedthat various combinations or sub-combinations of the specific featuresand aspects of the embodiments may be made and still fall within thescope of the invention. Accordingly, it should be understood thatvarious features and aspects of the disclosed embodiments can becombined with or substituted for one another in order to form varyingmodes of the disclosed invention. Thus, it is intended that the scope ofthe present invention herein disclosed should not be limited by theparticular disclosed embodiments described above, but should bedetermined only by a fair reading of the claims that follow.

What is claimed is:
 1. A mobile device case assembly configured toprovide protection for a mobile device, the mobile device case assemblycomprising: an outer cover comprising: a first member comprising a frontpanel; a second member comprising a rear panel and at least oneretention mechanism; and a flexible member separating the first memberand second member and attached to both the first member and the secondmember; a mobile device shell dimensioned to receive and retain themobile device comprising: a back panel; at least one protrusionextending in a direction transverse to the back panel along theperimeter of the back panel that defines a cavity dimensioned to receivethe mobile device; and at least one retention receiver configured toreceive the at least one retention mechanism.
 2. The mobile device caseassembly of claim 1, wherein the retention member comprises clips whichextend in a direction transverse to the rear panel.
 3. The mobile devicecase assembly of claim 1, wherein the first member further comprisespockets.
 4. The mobile device case assembly of claim 3, wherein thepockets are sized to receive items such as credit cards, business cards,and currency.
 5. The mobile device case assembly of claim 1, wherein thefirst member further comprises an elongate strap.
 6. The mobile devicecase assembly of claim 5, wherein the elongate strap is made from anelastic material and configured to lock the phone case assembly.
 7. Themobile device case assembly of claim 1, wherein the plurality ofretention receivers are located on the at least one protrusion.
 8. Themobile device case assembly of claim 2, wherein the plurality ofretention receivers comprise slots.
 9. The mobile device case assemblyof claim 1, wherein the mobile device shell further comprises voids andapertures configured to allow access to ports and other functionaldevices on the mobile device.
 10. The mobile device case assembly ofclaim 1, wherein the first member of the outer cover further comprises afirst aperture, and wherein the back panel of the mobile device shellfurther comprises a second aperture corresponding to the position andsize of first aperture.
 11. A mobile device case assembly configured toprovide protection for a mobile device, the mobile device case assemblycomprising: an outer cover having at least one retention mechanism; anda mobile device shell comprising: a back panel; at least one protrusionextending in a direction transverse to the back panel along theperimeter of the back panel; and at least one retention receiverconfigured to receive the at least one retention mechanism.
 12. Themobile device case assembly of claim 11, wherein the at least oneprotrusion of the mobile device shell further comprises one or moreapertures positioned and dimensioned to allow user access to the mobiledevice.
 13. The mobile device case assembly of claim 11, wherein theback panel of the mobile device shell further comprises an aperture fora camera or associated components on the mobile device.
 14. The mobiledevice case assembly of claim 11, wherein the at least one protrusion ofthe mobile device shell extend along the entire perimeter of the rearpanel.
 15. The mobile device case assembly of claim 11, wherein theouter cover further comprises at least one raised edge protrusionconfigured to facilitate placement and retention of the mobile deviceshell, and wherein the at least one raised edge protrusion of the outercover is located externally around the at least one protrusion of themobile device shell.
 16. The mobile device case assembly of claim 12,wherein the aperture is a void to allow access to external ports on themobile device.
 17. The mobile device case assembly of claim 11 whereinthe retention mechanism of the outer cover and the retention receiver ofthe shell are configured to be reversibly snapped together to fixedlyposition the shell relative to the back panel of the outer cover.